1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of wildlife calls.
2. Background of the Disclosure
Many devices are known for mimicking the calls of animals and game birds, primarily for the purpose of luring the animals or birds into proximity with hunters or birdwatchers. Generally speaking, these known devices have included a hollow tubular body having a mouthpiece or blow hole at one end and at least one reed assembly within the tubular body for producing the desired sound when activated by the air stream directed therethrough.
In many situations it is advantageous to have an animal or bird call which can mimic the sounds of more than one animal or bird species. For example, a hunter requires a call which can mimic the different sounds of various geese as well as the various duck species which may be hunted. Or the hunter may want to mimic the sound of elk in addition to moose, or other game animals. In the known devices, some animal or bird calls have included two or more reed assemblies within the same tubular body to create these differing sounds. These devices included stops, lever arrangements, or finger holes to direct the airstream to the reed assembly or assemblies which produce the desired sound. These devices have tended to become overly complicated and difficult to master. Furthermore, the increased complexity of these devices makes them more difficult to operate in the harsh field conditions in which they are often used.
Many such calls are effectively wind instruments. The basic bird and animal call has not changed significantly for the last hundred years or more. The user blows through a mouthpiece at one end of the device. A vibrating reed in a channel of the device responds to the wind force by vibrating to create the sound that emerges from the outlet port at the other end of the device. The mouth of the user does not actually come into contact with the reed. Control of the sound production comes from the user's adjustment of the input wind velocity, modulation of wind velocity by lip movement and by action upon the output sound waves by use of a hand curled around the outlet.